Garba Shehu Praises Amupitan's Humility and INEC's Clear Process in Osun Election

Former spokesperson to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, has praised the Independent National Electoral Commission for what he called a clear electoral process during the recent Osun State governorship election.

Shehu, in a statement about the election, also highlighted INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, for his humility and restraint after positive feedback on how the commission managed the poll.

According to PUNCH Online, the Osun governorship election took place on Saturday. The current governor, Ademola Adeleke, from the Accord Party, was declared the winner after receiving 511,067 votes. He defeated Bola Oyebamiji, the candidate from the All Progressives Congress, who got 404,107 votes.

Prof Joshua Ogunwole, the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, announced the result on Sunday.

Shehu shared his thoughts on the results. He remembered his worries about Amupitan’s appointment as INEC chairman. He referred to a 2020 legal brief where Amupitan supposedly called violence in Nigeria a Muslim attack on Christians.

Garba said, “I don’t know him, and we never met. I have no reason to wish to meet him, either. When they nominated him as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the nation received the shocking disclosure of his 2020 legal brief to the international community in which he claimed that the violence in the country was a Muslim pogrom against Christians.”

Despite this, Garba pointed out that violence in Nigeria has affected people of all religions and ethnic backgrounds. “The violence affected and still affects followers of all religions and speakers of every language,” he said.

He mentioned that this information made him and others doubt if Amupitan was a suitable choice for INEC. “For this reason, I, among many others, felt bad about the assertion he made and assumed that he was not a good choice for that office. This country’s elections had incrementally got better with each new leadership,” he said.

Garba also praised previous INEC chairmen, especially Prof Attahiru Jega and Prof Mahmood Yakubu, for their roles in Nigeria’s electoral process. “Professor Jega gave the nation its best election since the disputed June 12, 1993, that produced Chief MKO Abiola, now recognised as a duly elected president who did not, however, take the office. Professor Mahmud Yakubu did the impossible by rallying the civil society, CSOs, and local and foreign observers to approve all his elections. Not one election under him was ever rejected by any serious observer or CSO,” Garba added.

Shehu explained that the way the Osun election was handled changed his view of Amupitan’s leadership. He argued that INEC has delivered a clear electoral process. He noted that civil society organisations, the European Union, and local and international observers praised how the election was conducted, especially the electronic transmission and uploading of results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, IReV.

“Now, look at what has just happened in Osun State. Under Amupitan’s leadership, the country has attained a transparent electoral process. Everyone, civil society, the EU, local and foreign observers are commending this standout performance, praising the exceptional skill and determination to improve the process as manifested by INEC’s seamless uploading of the governorship election results to its IReV,” he said.

Despite the praise, Shehu expressed surprise that Amupitan had not celebrated the commission’s success publicly. “With all the loud acclaim that followed, however, I have been asking myself, where is the captain of the ship, Professor Amupitan? He hasn’t picked the microphone, 48 hours hence, or appeared before the TV cameras to proudly show off the success. Where is he?” Shehu asked.

He compared Amupitan’s silence with the tendency of some public officials to celebrate their achievements loudly. “We are a country of wilful behaviour, chest-beating public officials who are proudly and aggressively proclaiming success without achieving half of what we are talking about here. Where is he?” he said.

In conclusion, Garba said Amupitan’s restraint is unusual in Nigeria’s public space and urged him to recognize the achievement. “We are not used to seeing this kind of humility, patience, and restraint. Isn’t it fair that the man should come out of his shell and dance to the drums in celebration?” he asked.